


The Devil's Courtship

by ColieLox



Series: Tom Riddle/Allura Malfoy [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24428263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColieLox/pseuds/ColieLox
Summary: Part 2 of the series about Allura Malfoy (Original Female Character) and Tom Riddle Jr.Tom Riddle's summer with the Malfoy family reaches an exciting and important conclusion, and sixth year proves to be quite a roller coaster for him as well as for Allura.
Relationships: Tom Riddle/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Tom Riddle/Allura Malfoy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/880314
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. July 1943

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here we are again years later! I've finally decided to start posting part 2 of this series and resumed writing as well after a very long break. In the timeline for this story, we are picking up right where the story left off in part 1. Enjoy! Comments, feedback, and criticism are always welcome!

“I’ll grip ye hard and fast,  
Gold won your virgin heart at last  
And I’ll no part wi’ you m’dear,  
I’ll never part wi’ you.”

-The Devil’s Courtship by Battlefield Band

July, 1943

Tom had arranged for Henry Pettigrew to spend an afternoon at Malfoy Manor for tea. Abraxas reluctantly agreed to be friendly with the boy, though the rest of the Malfoy’s had been happy to accommodate the meeting for Tom’s new friend. Tom had asked Allura to act as their hostess, hoping to use the girl as leverage if needed to get the poor boy to do his bidding.

“Hello, you must be Henry.” Allura greeted with a soft smile as she let the lump of a boy into the house.

“Y-y-y-es. It it it’s lovely to meet you, M-m-mi-ss Ma-Malfoy.” Henry stuttered and blushed slightly at his hostess. He thought her to be very pretty, as most boys did. 

“Allura will do just fine, Henry. There’s no need to be so formal among friends.” Allura smiled sweetly and led the way out to the garden. “I was surprised when Tom said he wished to have a friend over for tea. It’s so rare that he makes new friends, you see. Tom keeps a very small circle, to say the least.” Allura explained as they walked through the house to the back door, indirectly suggesting that Henry was a special person to be friends with Tom. 

In all actuality, Tom had tricked Allura into flattering Henry and being extra sweet to him. He cared nothing for the boy’s feelings but he had told Allura about the boy’s stutter and how he seemed to have more bullies around than friends. This was an occasion that Allura’s heartstrings proved to be easy to pull and it was most useful. Her kind and sweet demeanor with the boy might be used to persuade him if he seemed reluctant to help Tom figure out how to do magic without setting off the trace. 

“And here is Tom, now.” Allura said finally once they reached the table set for four out in the garden. Dobby was in the process of setting out pastries and small cakes to go with their tea.

“Hello, Henry.” Abraxas greeted casually, though he still wasn’t particularly friendly with Tom’s newest target. The stutter simply drove Abraxas insane. He might have actually liked the boy a fair amount of it hadn’t been for his imperfect speech.

“So pleased you could make it, Henry. You’re the first friend that I’ve invited over so I must say that I am excited you were able to join us.” Tom greeted with a cold smile and shook Henry’s hand.

“I’m p-p-pleased to join you in your home.” Henry beamed as he took his seat in between Allura and Tom. “Th-thanks.” Henry said and blushed once more when Allura served him tea. Tom was pleased to see that Henry seemed to be developing a bit of a crush on the girl so quickly, and everything was in place in the event that Tom had to resort to his secondary plan. Allura, of course, had been led to believe that she was present to help put Henry at ease.

“I have-haven’t been out wi-wi-with friends in in in q-q-q-quite a long t-time. The la-last party I was in-in-in-invite-ed to tur-turned out to b-be a dirty tr-trick that the oth-other kids played on m-m-me.” Henry explained sheepishly, taking a moment to think back to the cruel treatment he had been subjected to in the summer after his third year at Hogwarts.

“That’s horrible!” Allura exclaimed, genuinely shocked that anyone would go so far to torment the pitiful young man seated at her side.

“I can assure you that there will be no tricks here. We’re your friends.” Tom said with a smile before passing a tray of pastries to Henry.

“Actually, I wanted to ask if you could help me with something. Though, I should explain myself first so you do not mistake my intentions.” Tom started, and stopped to look at the boy to read his reaction before continuing.

“I-I-I’d be ha-happy to help if I c-c-can, though I mu-must tell y-y-y-y-you that I do-don’t want to ge-ge-get into any any any tr-trouble.” Henry replied, wanting to help his friend but feeling nervous and cautious at the same time.

“My dear friend, I wouldn’t dream of asking you to do anything that might get you into trouble. I’m an orphan, and I have recently obtained information regarding the whereabouts of a few blood relatives that do not know about me, including my father. Not having any family to speak of, I want to seek them out. It’s a selfish endeavor but even if they don’t want to have anything to do with me, I’d at least like to meet my family just once.” Tom began, making a point to express how important this was to Henry.

“Well, th-that sounds al-al-alright. What d-d-d-does that ha-have to do wi-wi-wi-wi-with me, though?” Henry asked, genuinely hoping that there was something he could do to help Tom.

“Well, I’d like to travel this summer to my father’s home. I can go by train so there’s no issue with that but I wondered if you might know of a way that I could use magic without setting off the trace. I’ll be travelling alone so I’d feel much safer if I could use a bit of magic here and there without getting into trouble over it. You work in the Department of Improper Use of Magic so I thought you might have some ideas.” Tom finally cut to the chase and looked intently to Henry.

“Oh, well that’s ea-ea-easy, T-T-Tom. The tr-trace is is is is linked t-to your wa-wa-wand. We ju-just had to ho-hold a t-t-t-trial for for for a case where a b-b-b-b-b-oy near-nearly got ex-expelled for for for using ma-magic outside of school. It t-t-turned out tha-that his his his his father had used his w-wand be-because he got dr-dr-drunk and c-c-couldn’t find his own. I expect th-tha-that you c-c-c-could use a wand that d-d-doesn’t belong t-t-t-t-o someone un-un-under s-sevent-t-teen.” Henry said, feeling quite proud that he had figured out how to trick the system.

“You don’t say!” Abraxas exclaimed, surprised that the solution was so simple.

“You are so very clever to have figured out how the trace works based on that. I knew I could count on you.” Tom praised the lump of a boy, pleased that it was all so easy to get around. All he would have to do is find an adult’s wand to use on his trip.

“That really is brilliant, Henry. I always thought the trace was far more complicated than that.” Allura added, equally as surprised as her companions and eager to give Henry his due praise. 

“N-n-now, I should w-w-warn you, I ha-haven’t seen my theory t-t-t-tested so so so so I c-could b-b-b-b-be wr-wrong.” Henry added, wanting to make it clear that his idea wasn’t completely foolproof.

“It must be correct, as smart as you are, especially considering the insight you have from working in the department.” Tom couldn’t find a flaw in the boy’s suggestion and he really didn’t see how Henry could possibly be wrong. He also felt that the extra flattery wouldn’t hurt, either. 

“I th-think if th-there was a p-p-problem y-you would re-re-realize it b-before I would. A-anyw-way, g-g-good luck t-to you, Tom. I ho-hope y-y-y-you find your fa-family and e-e-e-everyth-th-thing works out f-f-for y-you.” Henry beamed, basking in the kindness of his companions. With the exception of Abraxas, of course, who had been put on strict orders to stay quiet for the most part. 

“Thank you, Henry. You’ve really been most helpful.” Tom smiled and took a sip of tea. 

After tea, they set up a game of croquet, which Henry seemed to really enjoy. Naturally, he had been paired with Tom. Now that business had been taken care of, the quartet were free to enjoy their game. Henry had been delighted to make the winning shot for his and Tom’s team. As annoying as Henry was, Tom made a point to see to it that he had a good time in exchange for the information he had shared. He seemed to respond best to positive reinforcement and Tom was certain that he could continue to use Henry as needed. 

“We should do this again, sometime. I quite enjoyed our afternoon, although I must insist that you’re on my team the next time we play croquet.” Allura said with a sweet smile as the trio walked Henry to the front door. 

“Th-thank you f-f-for inviting me. I had s-s-such a w-w-w-wonderful time.” Henry gushed with a big smile as he climbed onto his broomstick to head back home.

“We’ll invite you over again soon. There’s a party next weekend so watch for my owl.” Tom said with a cold smile as he waved goodbye and watched Henry take off.

“That went well.” Tom said to Abraxas and Allura as they made their way back into the house.

“Do you have everything you need to plan your trip, then?” Abraxas asked, knowing how important this was to Tom.

“I believe so. I should go look at the map one more time to finalize my route.” Tom said dismissively and excused himself to his bedroom. There was also the matter of finding a wand that he could use, but he had plenty of time to figure that out. He wasn’t due to get on the train for another three weeks. 

“Tom?” Allura called as she knocked on his bedroom door.

“Enter.” Tom called and sat up from the map that he had been leaning over. Quietly, Allura came into the room and closed the door behind her.

“Tom...I don’t want you to go to Little Hangleton by yourself.” She confessed sheepishly, having finally found the courage to speak up on the matter. 

“Why not? You’re being silly, Allura. I’m not an infant.” Tom scolded, quickly growing irritated.

“Listen...your grandfather was exceptionally violent and got locked up in Azkaban for it. You said so yourself, and your uncle was right there with him. I am not suggesting that you can’t handle yourself. I just think that you should have someone there to back you up if Morfin is looking for a fight. You’re a halfblood and from what I read, the Gaunts have always been fanatical about keeping pureblood genuinely pure. Morfin might see you as an insult to the family’s heritage.” Allura protested, intent on making her point. It could be really dangerous for Tom to go alone, especially if Morfin figured out that Tom wasn’t a pureblood. 

“You’re not coming with me, Allura.” Tom said with a note of finality. It was completely out of the question. What good would Allura be if there was a fight?

Allura stomped her foot in annoyance. “Why is that? And don’t you dare suggest that I’m not quick enough with a wand.” Allura said, her hot temper beginning to show. Tom would have to choose his words carefully so this wouldn’t work against him. With a sigh, Tom stood and made his way over to the girl.

“I said no such thing. It would, truthfully, be a comfort to have you there with me. But I cannot allow your safety to be put at risk. I could never forgive myself if you did end up getting hurt in the event that a fight breaks out.” He explained and took Allura’s hand tenderly. He actually wanted to go alone because of what he intended to do when he did find his family, but he might as well continue his work to reel Allura in since an opportunity presented itself.

“What about Abraxas? He’s had just as much advanced duel training as you’ve had. The three of us could go together. Abraxas can go with you to meet Morfin and I’ll stay behind at the pub just in case something happens.” Allura suggested, her big blue eyes letting her concern show. She really didn’t want to let Tom go alone. She could deal with staying out of sight in case there was a fight but there was a fifty percent chance that his family would reject Tom and she couldn’t bear the thought of letting him go through that alone.

“I suppose that might work…”Tom mused, knowing that Abraxas could be trusted to take his darkest secret to the grave. 

“Please at least consider it, Tom. I really don’t want you to go through all of that alone.” Allura pleaded, hinting at the thought that Tom might need her for support. She glanced down at their entwined hands and hoped that he would listen to her.

“I’ll speak to Abraxas about it after I’ve thought things over. But I’ll tell you now that you aren’t going with me if he isn’t going too. I won’t have you tempted to follow me into a potentially dangerous situation. Even without a fight, I don’t know how any of them behave, really. Morfin especially might take the wrong sort of interest in you and try to harm you if he manages to get me out of his way.” Tom said finally, knowing that Allura would figure out the scenario that he was worried about. If Morfin did manage to stun Tom into unconsciousness or something of that nature, he’d be able to do anything he’d like with Allura. 

“I understand.” Allura nodded solemnly, now being able to see clearly why Tom was so worried about her going with him to the Gaunt’s house. Tom only nodded in response and kept up his charade. He did his best to make it seem like he was stuck thinking about Allura in such a compromising position, and succumbed to wrapping his arms around the girl’s waist to hold her close. 

Allura was surprised by the embrace, but accepted it just the same and wrapped her own arms around Tom’s neck to return his affection.

***  
Walburga Black’s birthday party looked to be quite the event when Tom piled out of the carriage with the twins. Tom, as promised, had sent an invitation for Henry to join the trio, but Henry respectfully declined to attend. He was far too scared to go to the party after what had happened the last time he went to such an event, not that he had ever divulged what exactly had happened that had been so traumatizing. 

Just the same, the trio arrived promptly at Grimmauld Place for Walburga’s party. The house was much smaller than Malfoy Manor, so parents hadn’t been invited since there wasn’t enough room for much of anyone in the house once Walburga’s friends arrived. It wasn’t likely to be a rager like a Lestrange party, but there was no supervision for the mob of teenagers so it was likely to be a rowdy evening at least to some extent. 

“Come on, mate. Have a drink with us. No need to be so conservative with beverages like Allura. Live a little.” Abraxas encouraged Tom and handed him a rocks glass of amber brown liquid and ice. 

“What is it?” Tom asked as Abraxas clinked his glass to Tom’s as a means of toasting his friend privately.

“Firewhiskey, of course. I wouldn’t hand you a drink that isn’t for men.” Abraxas chuckled before taking a drink from his own glass.

Reluctantly, Tom took a swallow of the liquid, though he found the burning sensation in his chest from it to be rather pleasant. “Not bad.” Was all he said before taking another swallow of the liquid. 

“You’ve never had firewhiskey before?” Goyle guffawed after refilling his own glass.

“No.” Tom said simply and downed the rest of his glass so he might hold it out for Goyle to refill along with his own. 

“Good on you, Tom. Have some fun.” Abraxas encouraged Tom to continue drinking and clapped his friend on the back. Tom continued to drink with the other boys, though he was careful to keep an eye out to make sure Allura was still chatting in the corner with a few of the other girls. Parkinson was at this party and it wouldn’t do to fail regarding vigilance for the girl’s safety. Before long, the conversation did end up turning to the girls.

“What about Allura, then? I heard she flat out refused to sign a contract with Reginaldus this year. Surely she’ll agree to the match next year when she realizes she doesn’t have anyone else to turn to.” Cygnus Black asked Abraxas, but Tom interjected.

“Allura doesn’t want to have anything to do with such boorish refuse as Parkinson. I, for one, don’t blame her. He’s a complete dunderhead and she’s obviously far too good to marry the likes of that cretin. And who says she doesn’t have anyone else to turn to?” Tom said with an icy chuckle. The whiskey was starting to take its toll and he had begun to lose his inhibitions rather quickly.

“Well, everyone knows that there isn’t anyone else that is eligible for her. His family has enough assets to match her dowry. That’s how it’s always been done.” Crabbe said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You’ve got a point there. She might be able to find someone else in time though.” Abraxas said as he poured another round of whiskey.

“She will most certainly do her damndest to avoid Parkinson. You’re all fools if you think she’ll accept him just because of his money. Parkinson won’t ever have Allura and that’s the fact of the matter.” Tom said finally as he accepted a fresh glass from Abraxas.

“You’ll want to be careful, Riddle. You’ve got such a big opinion on the whole thing that you might make everyone think you’re after her yourself despite being ineligible. Ever heard the saying “the lady doth protest too much”?” Cygnus roared with laughter and clapped Tom on the back good naturedly despite the hint of cruelty in his joke. 

The other boys laughed along with Cygnus, aside from Tom and Abraxas. Neither one thought it was funny but they didn’t bother to protest or speak against what had been said. 

“Speaking of, where did Allura get off to?” Abraxas asked as he looked around the room in search of his twin. She was nowhere in sight.

“Merlin’s beard.” Tom hissed and looked around as well, hoping to at least see Parkinson in the room if he couldn’t find Allura. Neither one was there to be found.

“Have you seen my sister?” Abraxas asked Walburga, who he had seen with Allura just a little while earlier. 

“Oh...she went to the loo but that was around twenty minutes ago.” Walburga replied and started to glance around the room as well for a sign of curly blonde hair. 

“Where the hell is she?” Abraxas cried out in frustration.

“I’ve got a worse question for you...where’s Parkinson?” Tom asked bitterly, deducing that she was stuck somewhere with her worst enemy.

“Shit.” Abraxas hissed and pushed his way toward the staircase so he could search upstairs for his twin. Tom drew his wand and followed Abraxas up the staircase. 

Just as the pair reached the third floor, Parkinson crashed through the closed door to one of the rooms nearby and fell to the floor. A sinister shade of purple light had knocked him clear through the wooden panel, which had broken into several pieces.

“What the hell?” Abraxas yelled and jumped in surprise, having been caught completely off guard by the event. Then, Allura pounced on Parkinson in a rage, clawing at his face and screaming all the while. When she wasn’t satisfied by the amount of damage she was inflicting, she wrapped her hands around his throat and began to repeatedly slam his head against the floor. She attacked the boy with a level of ferocity that Tom didn’t realize she had in her. The ruckus had drawn a bigger audience than just Tom and Abraxas, and everyone watched the scene unfold in disbelief.

“She’s going to kill him!” A girl screamed from somewhere in the crowd just as Abraxas ran to Allura and pried her off of Parkinson. 

“What the fuck is going on here?” Abraxas cried out as he struggled to hold Allura back from attacking again. She managed to wiggle loose and went after Parkinson again when Tom snaked his arm around Allura’s waist and did his best to pin her to the wall as carefully as he could. He didn’t want to hurt her but he didn’t want her to be sent to Azkaban for murder either. At this point, Parkinson was knocked out and a few of the girls moved closer to tend to him.

“Stop it, Allura. What happened?” Tom asked once she was tired enough to stop struggling. She had been thrashing about so much to have another go at Parkinson that everyone had failed to see the large bruise on her face until she had become more still, gasping and trying to catch her breath. She said nothing but he could still see the rage in her eyes.

“Let me see.” Tom ordered and gently turned Allura’s face so he could inspect the damage. “He hit you?” He growled at the sight of the black and blue flesh that took up a good portion of the left side of her face as well as her lip, which had been split open and was dripping blood.

“Yeah.” Was all she could get out while she was still catching her breath. She grew much more calm under Tom’s gaze but the fire that had been lit within her didn’t go out completely. 

“Abraxas, tend to Walburga and give her Allura’s apologies for spoiling the party. I’m taking Allura home.” Tom ordered before keeping one hand on Allura’s arm and his other arm wrapped firmly around her waist as he led her through the crowd to the staircase, just in case she tried to bolt and attack Parkinson again.

They used the floo network to get back to Malfoy Manor, and Lucinda squealed in fright as the pair burst through the fireplace of the sitting room.

“What’s happened? Antonius!” Lucinda began to fuss as she inspected Allura’s face. “Where’s Abraxas?” She asked as her eyes grew wide in fear when she realized her son had not returned with them.

“Abraxas is fine. He’ll be along shortly, and there’s no need to worry. He’s giving Allura’s apologies to Walburga for fighting at the party.” Tom explained as he helped Allura sit down onto the sofa. She was wincing in pain and he realized just then that she probably had broken ribs. 

“Fight? What fight?” Lucinda screeched just as Antonius entered the room.

“Allura!” Antonius cried out when he saw the state of his daughter with Tom and Lucinda kneeling in front of her. He rushed over and inspected the damage. “What the hell happened?” He hissed, demanding an explanation. 

“I don’t know what exactly happened...as you can tell by Allura’s face, Parkinson attacked her. Like I said, I don’t know exactly what happened but she fought back and nearly killed the bastard once she snapped.” Tom explained for Allura as she moved to his lap and curled up in his arms to seek comfort instead of answering her father.

“Where’s Abraxas?” Antonius demanded to know, but didn’t require a verbal answer when his son exited the fireplace and joined them. 

“Parkinson’s awake now, if anyone would care to know. How’s Allura?” Abraxas asked cautiously, unsure of whether or not his parents were angry with them or not.

“Why wouldn’t he have been awake before? What in Merlin’s name happened to my baby?” Lucinda yelled as tears began to fall down her cheeks in a most dramatic fashion. 

“No one knows what happened between her and Parkinson but Allura went upstairs to use the loo and he caught her alone. Looks like he was in the process of beating her up and she went berserk. We were looking for Allura and saw her knock him through the door with a spell and she jumped on him and tried to strangle him. She was banging his head against the floor when she did that and she knocked him out cold.” Abraxas explained as he handed Allura’s wand to their mother. 

“Get her cleaned up, Lucinda. I’ll take care of that dragon shit of a boy myself. A proper beating from my daughter isn’t enough justice here, if you ask me.” Antonius growled as he prepared to head to his office at the ministry. Moments later, he was gone.

“Come on, darling. We need to get you cleaned up.” Lucinda cooed to Allura as she tried to pull her injured daughter away to the bathroom, but she was unsuccessful. Allura clung even tighter to Tom and frantically begged him to not let go of her.

“I’ll bring her.” Tom suggested as he hooked one of his arms under Allura’s knees to carry her for Lucinda. Obediently, he followed the older woman to the bathroom with the girl cradled in his arms as she continued to weep onto Tom’s shoulder. Carefully, he set Allura into a sitting position on top of the counter so Lucinda could tend to the girl’s wounds.

Suddenly, Lucinda burst into hysterical tears and began inspecting the skirt of Allura’s dress, which had been revealed to be torn when Tom set her onto the counter. Tom was clueless until he caught sight of the bruise on the outside of Allura’s upper thigh that was the shape of a hand, as though someone had taken hold of her legs and forced them apart. The other leg had a matching bruise as well and the evidence was right there on her damaged flesh.

“He...he didn’t!” Lucinda wailed and nudged Tom aside to inspect her daughter’s leg more thoroughly.

“No, mother. It’s lucky I was able to get a hold of my wand in time.” Allura consoled Lucinda, though fresh tears were spilling from her own eyes as well. At least the worst had not happened because she plucked up the courage to fight back.

It took Tom a moment to figure out what Parkinson had tried to do, and when it did sink in he saw red. 

“You should have told me that’s what was going on.” Tom growled through gritted teeth, outraged that Allura hadn’t said anything. His fists clenched and he began to shake in anger as he stewed over the fact that Parkinson had not only beaten the girl, but had tried to violate her in the worst way. Tom had never liked having someone mess with his things as it was, and despite the fact that he hadn’t been directly involved, Tom felt as though Parkinson had personally attacked him as well.

Without a word, Tom stormed out of the bathroom. He needed a plan. He needed a plan and he couldn’t even think straight. Lucinda was far too busy fussing over Allura to worry about where he was going. Tom was in a violent daze as he made his way back to the sitting room to find the boy. 

“Merlin! What is it?!” Abraxas cried out at the sight of Tom. He had never seen him this angry before and it was frightening. His best friend was shaking violently in his attempt to contain his anger, and his eyes looked to be a deep, blood-red shade of crimson. Worse than anything else, he was being dangerously quiet for being so visibly enraged.

“Parkinson. He beat her up because he was trying to…” Tom trailed off before shaking his head and trying to better collect his thoughts. He couldn’t even get the words out in his rage.

“What?!” Abraxas roared, thankfully having been quick enough to catch on to what Tom couldn’t say. “Come on.” He added, before leading the way to the fireplace to travel through the floo network.

Tom was happy to follow, thinking that Abraxas had intended for them to go find Parkinson to dish out a proper punishment immediately. To Tom’s disappointment, the pair landed in Antonius’ office at the ministry.

“What are you two doing here?” Antonius jumped with surprise at the sudden appearance of both boys, and he grew alarmed by the situation very quickly.

“Father...Parkinson tried to...ruin Allura. So no one else would agree to marry her. That’s why he attacked her in the first place.” Abraxas explained through gritted teeth, avoiding use of the dirty word that no one else wanted to blatantly say out loud either. 

“You’re certain of this?” Antonius asked pointedly, though his anger was obviously flaring up as well.

“Yes, sir. Mrs. Malfoy found that her dress was torn and she had hand prints bruised onto the upper part of her legs from Parkinson’s attempt to...force her. Allura verbally confirmed her suspicions when asked, and explained that he did not succeed because she had been able to fight him off.” Tom spoke up, having been the only witness in the room. 

“Very well. I would send you two back home but I don’t trust either one of you to refrain from doing what I’d like to do as well to that son of a bitch. As much as I’d like to set you two loose on him and look the other way regarding whatever happens, I’m afraid I must insist that none of us get our hands dirty. Make no mistake, boys, he shall pay dearly for such vile behavior.” Antonius explained and gestured for the two boys to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. Obediently, Tom and Abraxas both sat down, though both were obviously reluctant to do so.

“We’ll start with collecting memories of the event.” Antonius stated as he took three vials out of his desk drawer. “Think of exactly what you saw, both of you.” He ordered, and moved his wand to Abraxas’ temple first. A short, silvery strand was removed from the boy’s mind and placed into one vial, and then the same was done with Tom.

“Allura’s memory might be more difficult to get a hold of, I suspect. It’s crucial that we have proper evidence of exactly what happened while she was alone with Parkinson. He’ll tamper with his own memory of the event, of course, so there’s no point in collecting evidence that is not trustworthy.” Antonius went on to explain as he labeled both vials and placed them in his desk drawer.

“She’s probably throwing a fit right now because you’re not there.” Abraxas pointed out, having seen with his own eyes how his sister had clung to Tom so desperately back at the house.

“I can finish this paperwork at home so I’ll send someone to arrest Parkinson and contact his mother. We should be able to deal with him very quickly.” Antonius agreed before exiting the office to speak to one of the aurors that was still in the office. When he returned, the three men used the floo network to return to Malfoy Manor. Lucinda and Allura were waiting in the sitting room for them to return. 

“I’ve got this for you.” Lucinda said through her tears as she handed a vial to Antonius which obviously contained Allura’s memory of the event. Luckily, she had become familiar with the process of collecting evidence for criminal proceedings over the years, and she had enough foresight to retrieve the memory from her daughter quickly while all of the details were still fresh in her mind. Allura looked thoroughly exhausted and remained silent. It was apparent that she was emotionally drained now that she had calmed down.

“Thank you, darling. I’ve just sent Theseus Scamander to make the arrest. Parkinson will be expelled from school, although I’m not sure what the Wizengamot will decide beyond that. There are time slots open tomorrow for a trial, and we’ve got all of the needed evidence for him to be charged. I just need to review this memory and finish filling out the required documents in my study.” Antonius assured his wife and kissed her on the cheek before retreating so he could get back to work. Lucinda followed, wanting to see Allura’s memory for herself. 

“Come on, Allura.” Abraxas verbally prodded his twin and offered his arm to lead her upstairs. Numb and feeling mentally far away, she took his arm without a word and allowed him to lead her upstairs to go to sleep. Once she was tucked in, Tom and Abraxas went to their own rooms to rest as well.

Before long, Tom heard his bedroom door open. He knew it was Allura despite the fact that it was dark and she said nothing.

“Come on, then. Just leave the door open so your parents will have less cause to be offended if they find you in here.” Tom said with a sigh and scooted over so the girl could climb into bed next to him. He normally wouldn’t have accommodated such a situation but he did realize that she probably had a nightmare or was too scared to sleep. If she couldn’t handle being alone in the dark then so be it. Surely Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy wouldn’t fault Tom for allowing her to seek comfort from him after such a traumatic event. 

Once she settled under the covers, Allura curled up next to her best friend and rested her head on his shoulder. In a rather bold maneuver, she took hold of his hand and was glad that he hadn’t swatted her hand away. On the contrary, Tom kissed her hand before closing his eyes once more. 

Dobby seemed to realize that Allura had moved to Tom’s room without being told and he periodically popped into the room to make sure the pair were alright. The situation seemed harmless enough and the door was wide open so he didn’t feel the need to sound an alarm to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy as though what was going on wasn’t purely innocent.


	2. August 1943

The trial took place on August 1st, and Reginaldus Parkinson was convicted for assault and battery as well as attempted rape. He was expelled from Hogwarts, his wand was snapped in half, and he was immediately sent to Azkaban to serve his six month sentence once found guilty of all charges. It didn’t feel like enough justice for Tom or the Malfoys, but it was better than nothing and he wouldn’t be able to get ahold of Allura again. It didn't matter to Tom. He and Abraxas had already planned to take justice into their own hands against Parkinson later on when they got a chance. 

Ever since the night that Allura had been attacked, she refused to sleep anywhere except at Tom’s side. She tolerated being away from him while he was at the ministry working each day, but it quickly became apparent that she would not allow herself to be separated from the boy for longer than was absolutely necessary. 

Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy seemed to understand that she felt safe with Tom, and for the time being that was the most important accommodation that she needed. They thought, at this point, that Tom also clearly wanted Allura by his side as often as possible and it was only a matter of time before the pair would pursue permission to move forward with their relationship. Allura’s face and legs were healing nicely, but the emotional scars would take much longer to show signs of improvement. 

Sometimes Allura was even allowed to bring the boys and her father a homemade lunch and eat in the office with them, although non-ministry visitors to the department were usually not allowed at all.

“Mr. Malfoy, I’d like your permission to travel next weekend. I believe I have family in Little Hangleton, just outside of London, and I’d like to meet them if I can find them.” Tom said one such day as all four of them ate their meal.

“Well, I certainly don’t blame you for that. Although I’m not fond of the suggestion that you intend to travel alone.” Antonius said as he thought the idea over.

“Actually, father, Allura and I would like to accompany Tom on his trip. It seems better for the three of us to go together.” Abraxas chimed in before taking a bite of his roast beef.

“I think that would be best if Lucinda and I agree to allow it. I’ll talk it over with her tonight and I’ll give you our answer as quickly as possible.” Antonius agreed, seeing no issue with the idea. The teenagers were old enough to take a few hour’s train ride to a small town near London for a day or two to see Tom’s family. He had no inclination to believe that the trio would be unsafe or irresponsible and he found comfort in the fact that Tom and his children didn’t choose to just sneak off instead of keeping him informed regarding their desired plans for the weekend.

The following Saturday, the trio arrived in Little Hangleton and made their way to the pub to purchase a room for the night. Once their trunks were in the room and Allura settled in, Tom kneeled down beside her chair and took both of her hands in his while Abraxas was in the bathroom.

“Please just stay here and stick to the plan, Allura. You can see the edge of the forest where the Gaunt house is located from this window so there’s no need for you to leave the room. You are to do nothing aside from getting help if you see red sparks in the air. Promise me you won’t follow us or get involved any further than that.” Tom said urgently, making a point to be very clear about what she should and should not do.

“I promise.” Allura nodded and watched as Tom kissed one of her hands with gratitude.

Once Abraxas exited the bathroom, the two boys got themselves ready to visit Morfin rather quickly.

“We’ll be back soon. I doubt Morfin will be very social and my father probably won’t want to be reminded of my mother so I expect that we’ll only be gone for an hour or two at the most.” Tom called back to Allura as he followed Abraxas into the hallway to make their way out of the pub. 

“You remember what I said...not one word to Allura or anyone else about what happens tonight.” Tom reminded Abraxas sternly.

“Of course, Tom. She’d have a heart attack if she knew why we really came here. Your secrets are always safe with me.” Abraxas reassured his best friend as they walked to Morfin Gaunt’s decrepit hut. Tom had, of course, made Abraxas privy to what was really going on to ensure the boy’s cooperation.

Even from a distance you could tell how run-down and shabby the place was. It only took fifteen minutes down the path to the forest for the boys to reach the House of Gaunt. Both had been surprised to find that Morfin only spoke parseltongue, leaving Abraxas completely in the dark as Tom entered the cabin alone and spoke with his uncle. 

Faithfully, Abraxas poked his head into the cabin, wand in hand, when he heard the loud “crack!” followed by the sound of someone dropping to the floor. Thankfully, Tom had succeeded in knocking the man out at the end of their conversation and he had the old man’s wand in hand. He had also taken Morfin’s ring to use for his next dirty deed. 

“Let’s go, quickly before he wakes up again.” Tom hurried Abraxas as they left the hut and made their way to the big house on the hill, where the Riddles were located. At this point it was dark outside. 

“What happened? Is that the object you’re going to use?” Abraxas asked, pointing to the ring that was now on Tom’s hand as they jogged to their next destination.

“Shh...not now.” Tom silenced the blonde boy, indicating to Abraxas that now was not the time to chat about what was going on.

It took nearly thirty minutes before they reached the very top of the hill that overlooked Little Hangleton and silently entered the large house. Abraxas was careful to remain hidden in the shadows just outside of the room where Tom found who he presumed to be his grandparents as they spoke with their son, who looked remarkably like Tom. 

“Who are you? Get out of my house!” Tom Riddle Sr. hollered as he stood from the table. His grandparents looked at the young man in awe, having noticed how much he looked like their own son.

“I assume you recall the wife you abandoned, Merope Gaunt?” Tom asked, unsure of how to begin the conversation at hand. 

“Don’t tell me you’re the little rat that she gave birth to. I suppose she sent you here to try to convince me to come back.” Tom Sr. spat, knowing exactly who Tom was as soon as he spoke of Merope. 

“She might have if she hadn’t died while giving birth to me.” Tom retorted, his anger beginning to flare up.

“Oh, Tom, you didn’t!” The man’s old mother cried out, shocked that she had a bastard grandchild that she never knew about. Her husband looked equally shocked. 

“Well, I don’t know why you came here boy, but you only exist because of your foul mother’s trickery. She bewitched me and I left you both as soon as I could escape for a reason. Now get out of my house and don’t you dare come back here again!” 

Tom had thought that perhaps he would create his first horcrux some other time, but it was clear that his family had no plans to accept him. 

“Avada Kedavra.” Tom said in his signature icy, unfeeling tone. He watched as his grandfather dropped to the floor, dead. The old woman began to scream right away, so Tom killed her as well rather quickly.

“I have plans for your death, in particular, father.” Tom spat the last word with disgust and prepared himself to carry out the deed he had come here for as soon as his father was dead. 

“Avada Kedavra.” Tom cried out before the man could respond, and immediately after the flash of green light from the killing curse dissipated he began to cast a far more complex spell.

Tom spoke the ancient words and ripped a piece of his now fragmented soul out of his own body. It was an extremely painful and tiring process, and he felt exceptionally vulnerable while his unshielded sliver of soul was out in the open. Quickly, he continued the dark spell and placed the piece into the ring he had stolen from Morfin. Once the deed was done, Tom dropped to the floor. To Tom, it only felt like a matter of seconds but it had obviously taken much longer than he thought to create a horcrux once the grandfather clock on the wall chimed midnight.

“Wow...that was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” Abraxas said of the ancient dark spell as he helped Tom back to his feet. 

“I’m exhausted.” Was all Tom could say as he leaned onto Abraxas for support to walk out of the house.

“Do you suppose the house is yours now? I don’t see any children or other relatives in any of the paintings.” Abraxas pondered casually, hoping to distract Tom from the pain he was in. They still needed to frame Morfin for the muggle deaths and get back to the pub.

“If it is mine now, I don’t intend to use it. Who would want to live in a filthy muggle house?” Tom scoffed as they slowly made their way back to Morfin’s shack. 

“You do it.” Tom ordered his companion and handed Morfin’s wand over. Then, he sat down on a stump to rest for a few minutes. 

“Good on you, Tom. That was brilliant!” Abraxas laughed once he returned from altering Morfin’s memory so he would believe that he himself had killed the Riddles and placed the wand back into the old man’s hand. 

“I suppose I’ll agree once I’ve recovered from using so much power.” Tom said and winced in pain when he ventured to chuckle at the feat he had just accomplished. Despite his pain and exhaustion, Tom was elated to have finally become immortal.

“Come on, then. Let’s head back to the pub before Allura starts to panic over how long we’ve been gone.” Abraxas concluded as he helped Tom back up to his feet and they made their way back to town.

“What happened? I didn’t see any spells being cast at Morfin’s!” Allura cried out as Abraxas helped Tom back into their room at the pub. 

“Morfin stunned Tom, and then I stunned Morfin.” Abraxas lied to his twin as she helped Tom to one of the beds and began to fuss over him. They had all known that Morfin would reject his only nephew so that obviously wasn’t what was really going on. 

“Enough, Allura. I just want to rest.” Tom croaked when she began to flip through the book of healing spells she had brought just in case. She was frantic, as though she knew that Tom hadn’t simply been stunned, and it began to unnerve Tom. He was grateful when she retrieved a glass of water for his parched throat and asked no further questions. She clearly knew something was amiss but she didn’t dare to press either of the boys for an explanation for the time being. 

“Merlin! Your hands are like ice.” Allura cried out as she accidentally brushed against Tom’s hand when he handed the now empty glass back to her.

“Would you two please just tell me what happened? This isn’t from a stunning spell.” Allura demanded as she removed Tom’s shoes and gently pushed him back onto the bed to tuck him under the covers so he could start to warm up.

“That’s for us to know, and not for you to find out. It’s none of your business. Really, Allura, just let him be.” Abraxas scoffed as he removed his own shoes and sat down on the second bed. 

“Tom, please. I don’t know what’s happened but you’re extremely ill. Please just tell me what’s wrong so I can help you.” Allura begged Tom, who only looked at her and refused to say a word. He was too tired to speak, even if he wanted to let her in on the secret at hand.

“Damn you both.” Allura huffed incredulously and climbed into the bed next to Tom to keep him warm, not knowing what else she could do to help him. It was obvious that standard healing charms wouldn’t be of any use and that’s all she knew how to do successfully.

As soon as he curled up to Allura’s warm body and her arms wrapped around him, Tom did stop shivering. In all honesty, there wasn’t anything to do except ride out his illness. From what he read he would be good as new within twenty-four hours and no potions or healing charms would help his current state. He carefully placed his head on Allura’s chest and let the sound of her heartbeat ease him into a deep sleep.

Once Tom was fast asleep, Abraxas told Allura the lie that he and Tom had agreed upon so she wouldn’t be angry with Tom for not telling her what had happened.

“If you must know, Tom’s entire family rejected him. It was the most cruel and heartless thing I’ve ever seen someone do to their own flesh and blood. The only four relatives he has turned him away as though he was yesterday’s rubbish. As you can see, Tom’s taking it pretty hard. Don’t tell him that I told you.” Abraxas whispered across the room to Allura, careful to make his twin believe that she was in on the “big secret”. Allura was still skeptical, but she had no choice but to accept what Abraxas told her for now.

The next day, the trio slowly made their way back to the train station. Tom physically felt fine, but he made a point to sulk and be more withdrawn than usual so Allura would have no reason to question the lie Abraxas told her. It wasn’t difficult to pretend as though he were heartbroken. Negative emotions had always been easiest for Tom to act out. Allura was careful not to pester Tom on the train, and she spent most of the day reading to him as they travelled back to Wiltshire. 

After they returned to the mansion, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy could sense that something was terribly wrong. They had never seen Tom look so depressed, and they had guessed that Tom’s family had turned him away.

“The poor boy...but he doesn’t need any of them, does he? He has us.” Lucinda mused to Antonius after the trio had gone upstairs to unpack. 

“That is for certain. Those idiots must not have been able to see what an extraordinary young man he is. He looks devastated but we’ll sort him out, Lucinda. He knows he has family in this house.” Antonius agreed before ordering Dobby to prepare tea for everyone.


	3. September 1943

As everyone prepared to leave for Hogwarts on the morning of September 1st, Tom pulled Antonius aside so they could speak privately.

“Sir...as I’m sure you’ve realized by now, I have developed rather strong feelings for Allura over the summer. I don’t dare pursue her without your permission and I don’t dare wait any longer to ask you for it. I only have so much time to win her over before she’s due to enter a contract. I don’t wish to force myself on her, after everything that’s happened with Parkinson but...I want to be with her if she’ll have me. May I have your blessing to attempt to win her hand?” Tom asked cautiously, doing his best to seem far more nervous than he had ever been. Truth be told, he was genuinely nervous but he thought kicking it up a notch would be necessary to gain Mr. Malfoy’s permission. He hated being so emotionally submissive, but it was a necessary pretend if Tom was to get what he wanted.

“I...well, yes. Of course, my boy. I won’t dare lie to you by suggesting that this isn’t exactly what my wife has been hoping for all along. She made me promise that you would have my permission if you ever did ask to pursue Allura, actually. I myself would be proud to offer my daughter to such a fine young man and you are most welcome to try to win her affections, although I must admit that it appears that she already considers herself to be yours.” Antonius replied with a hearty smile and clapped Tom on the back. 

“Thank you, sir. I cannot tell you how much your blessing means to me.” Tom said with a charming smile and he shook Antonius’ hand. 

Tom caught sight of Lucinda and Antonius further behind the teenagers on the way out to the carriage and they were whispering excitedly, probably about the request Tom had made, and they both looked positively thrilled. Their little chat ended as soon as they were within earshot of their children and the five wizards departed for King’s Cross Station.

Rumors began flying around the train at the sight of Allura and Tom. No one outside of Slytherin House knew exactly what happened the night of Walburga’s birthday party, but everyone had seen in the Daily Prophet that Parkinson had been expelled and sent to Azkaban for his misdeeds against Allura that night. 

“Just ignore them. None of those idiots will have the guts to do anything about it anyway.” Tom murmured in Allura’s ear when the pair noticed Parkinson’s closest friends shooting death glares in their direction as they passed in the walkway. 

“All of the gossip will die down before too long. Just wait until something else happens and gets everyone’s attention focused on other people. They’ll all forget about it in no time.” Abraxas assured both Tom and Allura as he followed them into a compartment and slid the door shut behind him. 

The trio knew exactly what everyone would be buzzing about once they found the Chamber of Secrets. There was said to be a monster inside that Tom would use to secretly take over the school if the beast was still alive. It was only a matter of time before everyone else would be looking over their shoulders and trying to figure out what was really going on in the school. It was a bold move to be sure, but the possibility of Tom being in charge of Hogwarts was confirmed by Slytherin’s diary and worth looking into. 

“They have no idea what’s about to shake the entire school. Let them enjoy the unimportant gossip until then.” Tom chuckled dryly, thinking about the Chamber of Secrets and the monster that lived within.

Allura would normally not have condoned such plans, but after Parkinson attacked her she had slowly but surely changed. She was sick of being a victim and became hungry for power so she would never be made to feel that way again. With a monster under Tom’s control that could reign by means of terror, she wouldn’t have to be afraid of anyone for as long as she was at Hogwarts and remained in Tom’s good graces.

“H-hello?” A timid voice squeaked and knocked on their compartment door. Reluctantly, Abraxas slid the door open to allow entry to none other than Henry Pettigrew. Abraxas plopped back down onto his own seat without acknowledging the boy any further. Henry didn’t seem to care to pay any mind to Abraxas either and focused his attention on the other teenagers.

“Hello, Henry.” Tom greeted with a nod and gestured for Henry to sit down.

“Hello, T-t-tom, Allur-ra. I ha-haven’t s-s-s-seen either of y-you in in in in a while so I th-thought I’d stop b-b-b-b-by for a m-moment or t-two.” Henry greeted his two friends with a shy grin. “H-how are y-y-you?” He asked, turning his gaze to Allura. He had, of course, known about what transpired at Walburga’s party and was involved in marking Allura’s trace infraction that had been reported that night as self defense rather than a true infraction once the trial had concluded.

“I’m alright, thank you Henry. As you can see my face looks normal again.” She replied sweetly and turned so he could see the now healed left side of her face. She had still been black and blue at the trial, although she did now have a small scar on the edge of her bottom lip where Parkinson had split it open. 

“G-good. I-I-I’d have helped to con-conspire against that P-Parkinson ra-ra-rat if if if if he hadn’t been pro-pro-properly punished f-for what he d-d-d-d-did.” He replied with a curt nod and looked to Tom, indicating that he would fight at the young man’s side over something so serious if he was ever asked to do so. 

“Noted.” Tom said in a curt tone, silently letting Henry know that he would be informed if his assistance was needed for such a plot. 

“I’d still like to get my hands on him one day.” Abraxas sulked, letting his annoyance with legal punishments be known openly. 

“H-he could a-a-accidentally be g-g-given a dementor’s k-kiss while he’s l-l-l-l-l-locked up.” Henry suggested hopefully in an attempt to lighten Abraxas’ mood a bit. 

“Here’s to hoping.” Abraxas gave his flat reply before turning his attention away from the lump of a boy once again. It was the friendliest exchange the two boys had ever had, unimpressive as it was.

“W-well, I s-s-suppose I’ll head b-b-b-back out. I j-just wanted to say hello and s-s-see how y-y-y-you all w-were d-doing. I d-don’t wa-wa-want to in-intr-trude.” Henry said with a sigh as he stood to make his way to an empty compartment.

“Nonsense, Henry. Would you play Exploding Snap with me? These two never want to play card games.” Allura asked in an attempt to make him feel more welcome to stay among people he considered to be his friends.

“I-I’d be glad t-t-t-to.” Henry replied with a big smile and sat back down onto the bench.

“Oh, good. Now we get to listen to you two making a racket for the whole train ride.” Abraxas sneered and propped his feet up onto the adjacent bench where no one was sitting. 

“Enough, Abraxas. You’ll leave Henry and Allura be without any snide remarks or you’ll get out.” Tom scolded Abraxas, a hint of a threat lying beneath his words. The blonde was well aware that Tom intended to use Henry again if needed and Allura’s small acts of kindness for the boy would keep him in their pockets and that was not to be discouraged.

“I’m going to find Gianna.” Abraxas grumbled and left the compartment in a huff, snapping the door shut behind him in an irate manner. It was an opportunity to work on winning his desired fiancee’s affections, at the very least.

Before long, Allura and Henry were stifling their giggles as they joked and played their game so as to avoid disturbing Tom’s reading too much. He couldn’t help but be amused by their friendly banter since his book hadn’t proven to be very interesting, though he continued to pretend to read as he silently chuckled to himself once in a while. 

“Y-y-you cheated!” Henry sniggered, amused by the girl’s antics. It had been so long since he had an opportunity to goof off with someone his age and he was loving every minute of it.

“I most certainly did not! You cheated.” Allura teased with a smirk and accused him back. 

“Y-you did s-s-so! L-l-look here, s-sneak-sneaky mc-mc-mc-mc-mcsneakst-st-st-ster!” Henry guffawed as he pulled several cards out of Allura’s sleeve, thus proving that she had probably been cheating the whole time they had been playing the game. The pair laughed hysterically together at Henry’s impaired attempt at name-calling. She had a magnificent way of making the boy feel like he could laugh at himself without a care and shouldn’t feel bad about himself for having a stutter. It was all in good fun and he knew there wasn’t a cruel-hearted intent behind it when she teased him and played her innocent tricks on him while they played. 

A couple of hours later, the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station and they had to part ways once they arrived at the carriages to the school.

“We’ll see you soon, Henry.” Tom said with a small wave to the boy as he headed for a carriage of other Hufflepuff students.

“G-g-goodbye!” Henry called back to Allura and Tom before taking a seat with his housemates. 

Allura took her seat in the next carriage between Abraxas and Tom before they also departed. Gianna had joined them and was seated next to Abraxas, giggling at every word he said while they chatted. Once they arrived at Hogwarts, Allura linked arms with Tom and quickly led him away from her brother and his new girlfriend. Her high-pitched laugh had quickly started to irritate Allura and she had been eager to get away from Gianna. 

“You too?” Tom asked with a chuckle, discretely indicating that he found Gianna annoying as well. She only gave an incredulous nod in response, as though she was non-verbally indicating her shock at how the stupid girl had managed to get under Allura’s skin so quickly. 

“Abraxas might not pester us to go to quidditch games with him this year with her around, at least.” Allura finally spoke, finding a silver lining to having such an incessant pest around as they entered the castle and took their seats at the Slytherin table for the feast. 

“Indeed.” Tom replied with a smirk just before Headmaster Dippet stood and made his back-to-school speech.


	4. October 1943

The first month of school passed rather quickly with no sign of the whereabouts of the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Tom had never been particularly patient and he was quickly growing frustrated. He and Allura had agreed to begin searching from the top levels of the castle and make their way down to the bottom levels. It was highly possible that the entrance could be at the top and as far away as possible from the actual chamber itself, which Allura suspected was located below the castle. 

“Are you sure you’ve been looking hard enough when you go out to check the girl’s bathrooms?” Tom asked through gritted teeth, hinting that it might be her fault that they hadn’t found the entrance yet. He tossed a rock into the lake in a weak attempt to let off a bit of steam.

“I’m absolutely sure, Tom. I’ve only finished inspecting four rooms over the span of a month because of how thoroughly I’ve looked through each one. I told you I intended to spend an entire week searching each bathroom to be sure that I haven’t missed anything and I’ve been doing exactly that.” She insisted with an indignant huff, letting her annoyance be known over his inclination to blame her for their search being fruitless thus far.

Tom let out a big sigh and ran his hand through his hair in irritation.

“Would you stop it? We just need to continue searching is all. You being snippy about it won’t help us find the chamber any faster.” Allura scolded Tom for being excessively impatient. Surely he knew that the entrance wasn’t designed to be easily found by two teenagers. 

Tom let out another sigh in an attempt to calm himself before he spoke again. “You’re right. I’ll have another chance to look while I’m on patrol tonight and you have a free period every day so it’s not as though we aren’t legitimately searching on a regular basis.”

“Exactly. We will find it, Tom.” Allura reassured her companion before leading the way back to the castle. It was almost curfew and Tom had to report for his prefect duty assignment in Slughorn’s office very soon. The pair quietly made their way down to the dungeons, and paused just outside of the potions master’s office to bid each other good night. 

“Try to get some sleep, alright?” Tom compelled her as he took hold of Allura’s hand and kissed it. It had proven difficult for Allura to sleep very much without Tom laying by her side now that they were back at Hogwarts. It was, of course, strictly forbidden for boys and girls to sleep with each other in the school, so there was nothing to be done aside from “accidentally” falling asleep in the common room on the couch during a late study session once in a while. 

“I’ll try. See you in the morning.” Allura bid her companion good night and left him to check in with Slughorn and work on his patrol route. As always, it was just past midnight by the time he returned to the dungeons and made his way to bed.

Truth be told, Tom also found that recently it hadn’t been as easy for him to fall asleep as it used to be. He really did miss having Allura next to him in his bed, and he was more inclined to toss and turn throughout the night without her warmth right there to lull him back to sleep. Occasionally, he charmed a piece of paper to float back and forth between them so they could pass each other notes on the nights that he couldn’t stay asleep for very long stretches of time either.

At least they were no longer separated all day, and they did sit together during every class except for potions, which Allura was not taking anymore. She hadn’t bothered to fill the empty period with another course and utilized that time to search for the Chamber of Secrets. She wasn’t a prefect with assigned patrols at night so the pair originally did not know when she’d be able to do her part of the hunt without being interrupted by other students, and the gap in her schedule proved to be very helpful in that regard. 

There was certainly no denying how substantially their bond grew in less than a year, starting off as mere acquaintances the previous Christmas and making their way to much more at such a rapid pace. As Tom closed his eyes to get some rest, he remembered that there was to be a Hogsmeade trip soon, and he decided to ask Allura if he could take her out for lunch. It wouldn’t be the first time they had gone to the village together but it would be the first time he planned to treat their outing like a real date.

Perhaps he would even surprise her with a trip to Honeydukes so he could buy her some sweets, despite the well known fact that the candy shop was the place he despised most in the whole town because it was always overly-crowded. It seemed like a small sacrifice to reward her for working so hard each day to find the chamber. In all honesty, she had more opportunities to search the school than he did and he almost felt guilty for insinuating that she wasn’t looking hard enough earlier that night. 

Tom could visibly see Allura’s ambition and desire to be in a powerful position growing more and more all the time, and he felt confident that she was transforming into his soul mate without any major influence from him. If nothing else, Parkinson had successfully lit that flame within her, despite the unforgivable offenses the moron had committed to make it so. By the time Tom would be able to fully take over the world, he was certain that she would properly fit into the role of his rightful queen. 

As his thoughts continued to revolve around the girl deep into the night, he decided it was worthwhile to send her a note asking if he could take her on a date to Hogsmeade. He knew she woke up frequently each night and it wouldn’t be long before she wrote back, even if she happened to be asleep at the moment. His impatience would explain away why he sent her a note in the middle of the night instead of asking her face to face the next day, and he was grateful to have that as an excuse to not ask her in person. He knew she wouldn’t reject him but such things related to dating still made him rather nervous, though he would never admit that fact in a million years.

Tom scrawled a casual invitation to join him for a date in Hogsmeade the next weekend that a trip would be scheduled and he watched as the paper folded itself into the shape of a paper airplane once he cast the charm and it flew away to find Allura. 

Not long after, she had written back eagerly accepting his invitation, as long as it wasn’t to be a double date with Abraxas and Gianna. It was hard to decipher emotions in a written note, but Tom knew she was happy that he had finally asked her out on a proper date. She knew as well as he did where their relationship had been going all summer, and he appreciated her not pressing him or trying to rush anything. He had always demanded that he do things at his own pace and he was glad that Allura accepted that. 

***  
“I found something while you were in potions that I’d like to show you.” Allura wrote onto a spare bit of parchment before nudging Tom and discretely pointing to the note so he would read the piece of paper that was casually sitting on the table between them. 

“What is it?” Tom wrote back, eager to find out what it was. Had she found the chamber?

“I’ll tell you later.” She scribbled before pointing her wand at the parchment and erasing all of the ink once Tom had quickly read it. 

Tom had never been so eager to get out of Defense Against the Dark Arts class in all of his life. It had always been his favorite class, since it was a good way to indirectly find out about dark magic. He often used the topics discussed as a starting point to research the opposite side of defensive spells. The hour droned on and on, and he quickly became irritable due to what seemed like a lengthy wait for class to be dismissed. Finally, Professor Merrythought distributed homework assignments and the students were free to go to lunch.

Tom took hold of Allura’s arm as soon as she had gathered her belongings and yanked her out into the hallway towards a hidden alcove a few yards away.

“What did you find?” He whispered eagerly after casting a silencing charm on the alcove so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Calm down, it’s not the chamber. Up on the sixth floor I was pacing back and forth in one of the corridors trying to think of where else I should look for the entrance up there, and a door appeared. I didn’t dare go inside by myself because I didn’t know what was in there but I suspect that it’s the Room of Requirement.” Allura explained in a hushed tone despite the fact that she knew they couldn’t be overheard with Tom’s spell muffling their voices. His eyes grew wide at the discovery, but he didn’t speak for a moment because he was too busy thinking things over.

“Do you know what this means, Allura? If you really did find the Room of Requirement we may not need to keep searching the school. I doubt it’ll become a direct path into the chamber itself because of all the spells Slytherin placed to keep it well hidden but it could be possible for us to use the room to form a passage to the location of the entrance.” Tom explained triumphantly, pleased by his own cleverness. 

“That’s...I didn’t think of that at all. You’re a genius.” Allura agreed and she happily shared Tom’s excitement that the hunt for the Chamber of Secrets was as good as over. 

“I know.” Tom smirked at the compliment and leaned back against the wall with his arms folded in front of him casually.

“It’s too risky to go check it out during the day with everyone else moving about the school freely but we could try to sneak out tonight so I can show you where the room is.” She suggested, knowing that Tom wouldn’t be able to wait very long to investigate. 

“Agreed. It’s on one of the top levels of the school so we’ll need to agree on an excuse in case we do get caught roaming the castle in the middle of the night.”   
“Well, the Astronomy Tower is up that way and there’s plenty of stairwells and alcoves that couples sneak off to for...privacy. I think if anyone did catch us they’d just assume we were hanging around up there for that reason if we just don’t give an excuse at all. Everyone thinks we’ve been secretly dating since last winter anyway.” Allura gave a dry chuckle, at least finding use for the rumors that had been flying around about them for almost a year. 

“What? You’re joking.” Tom asked incredulously. It had only been since late summer that he had expressed interest in Allura that way.

“Not at all. Didn’t you hear? I was so sick last year because you dumped me and I didn’t get better until we got back together at the end of the year. I’ve heard recently that our brief separation was so incredibly traumatic for you as well that you pay more attention to me than your school work. You’re also said to be at risk of failing potions because I’m not there with you and you miss me too much to do your assignments.” She laughed, surprised that Tom hadn’t heard his own story yet.

“That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard. As though I would act like such a pathetic sap.” Tom spat before lifting the silencing charm and leading the way out of their hiding place. The secret part of their conversation was obviously over with for the time being. 

The pair made their way to the Great Hall for lunch, and Tom found himself being more careful to listen for his name outside of his inner circle of acquaintances. He heard nothing, of course, considering how loud everyone was all at once during meal times. 

Allura suddenly seemed quite upset as she intently watched something that was going on at one of the tables behind Tom. He turned around to figure out what she was looking at and found that Henry was seated at the Hufflepuff table a short distance away from the other students. A deep frown was etched into his face as a girl from Ravenclaw stood over him and continued to say what appeared to be some really mean things.

“I can’t watch this.” Allura hissed and stood from the table, intent on putting the girl that was bullying Henry in her place. She practically stomped her way over to the Hufflepuff table and started picking on the Ravenclaw girl in return. Tom reluctantly followed behind Allura and was surprised when his companion began spouting insults.

“Who are you to talk down to anyone? You look like a spotty pig that’s wearing old lady glasses. You’re so visually repulsive that you ought to be ashamed to show your face in this school. Look at how greasy and nasty your hair is. Someone else’s stutter should be the last thing you’re worried about. You’re not good enough to make fun of anyone so you’d best clear off before everyone else starts pointing out your horrendous number of flaws too.” She spat and pushed the Ravenclaw away from Henry. Coward that she obviously was, the girl ran away crying.

“Come on, Henry. You’ll finish eating lunch with us at our table.” Allura said with a sweet smile to the devastated lump of a boy once she ran the bully off.

“Who was that?” Tom asked as Henry walked with the pair back to the Slytherin table, a deep sadness still stuck in his mud-brown eyes. 

“M-Myrtle War-War-Warren.” Henry answered quietly and sat down next to Allura opposite of the bench that Tom had been seated on. As he sat down the Great Hall started to buzz, wondering why a Hufflepuff was so friendly with two well-known Slytherin students.

“I’ve seen her before...it seems odd that she’s started going around picking on people like she doesn’t get bullied all the time herself.” Allura said irritably before taking a bite of candied yams. 

“Don’t worry about her, anyway. She won’t let Allura catch her treating you like that again.” Tom said casually and passed a platter of roast turkey to Henry so he could begin filling his empty plate. 

“By the looks of it no one else will mess with you either, now that everyone’s seen that you’re friendly with a couple of Slytherins.” Allura added and nudged Henry gently with her elbow so he would look at the reassuring smile that she gave him.

“Th-thanks, b-b-b-both of of of y-y-you.” Henry answered with a nod, though he was embarrassed to not be able to defend himself to begin with. 

“You need to learn how to stick up for yourself. We won’t always be around to fight your battles for you.” Tom said pointedly, making it clear that he thought the boy needed to stop acting like a doormat for anyone that wanted to throw harsh words his way. 

“I kn-kn-know. I just d-d-d-d-d-didn’t wa-want t-t-to be m-m-m-mean b-back.” Henry stuttered, making his dilemma in such situations clear to his two friends. 

“If someone is causing you harm then why should you care about hurting them back? It’s only fair and if you fight back, most people won’t keep picking on you because they were just looking for an easy target in the first place.” Tom contradicted the boy’s logic very quickly.

“Tom’s right, Henry. People will treat you as badly as you allow them to. Did you see the way Myrtle ran off as soon as I started saying mean things back to her? You could do that for yourself if someone is trying to hurt your feelings, you know.” Allura agreed as Henry began to slowly eat, thinking over the things that his friends were telling him. 

He didn’t have much to say after Tom and Allura both explained their congruent ideas about the situation, and he could see that the points they made were completely valid. Despite his embarrassment, he was just glad that someone bothered to stick up for him for the first time in many years. 

***   
“Miss Malfoy, I wonder if I might have a word with you before you head for your next class.” A Gryffindor wearing the “Head Girl” badge called out as she stopped Allura in the hallway on her way to Transfiguration with Tom and Abraxas. Myrtle Warren was peeking around the tall brunette fearfully at Allura. 

“What is it, McGonagall?” Allura asked irritably from her place in between the boys as she waited for the older girl to reach them.

“What’s this I hear about you picking on Myrtle Warren in the Great Hall during lunch?” The overly-stern girl demanded to know as she gently took hold of Myrtle’s arm and pulled her forward so the trio could see the girl’s tear-stained face. 

“I wouldn’t have bothered her at all if she hadn’t been making fun of my friend, Henry Pettigrew, for having a stutter. Perhaps Myrtle should treat others the way she’d like to be treated if she disliked the things I said to her so much.” Allura retorted, spitting out the pitiful girl’s name as though it were a bad word, and stuck her chin out into the air defiantly, as though both of the girls and this conversation were too far beneath her to merit a respectful amount of eye contact.

“It’s true, I saw the whole thing. Myrtle nearly had Henry in tears before Allura stepped in to defend him.” Tom interjected and pointed to his prefect badge, indicating that he did have the authority to contribute information even though he hadn’t been directly involved in the incident. 

“That’ll be twenty points from Slytherin. I’m afraid I’ll have to take away an equal number of points from Ravenclaw, Myrtle. You were bullying another student as well, a fact that has been confirmed by a prefect.” McGonagall explained to the younger girl, insisting that the guilty parties all receive fair punishment. 

“Anything else?” Allura drawled, caring nothing for the lost points. 

“No, you may go now.” McGonagall said sternly, obviously unhappy with the blonde girl’s poor attitude, and left to escort Myrtle to her next class now that they were all tardy. 

“Did you see the look on McGonagall’s face? You really ticked her off, ‘Lura. I’ll bet she wished you had been rude enough for her to throw you into detention.” Abraxas chuckled as the trio resumed their walk to Transfiguration. 

“As if I would be so stupid.” Allura said with a smirk, knowing that she had gotten under the older girl’s skin without earning further punishment. 

“Well, it was so nice of you three to join us. Take your seats, please, and get to work on copying the notes on the board quickly so I don’t have to take away points for your tardiness.” Dumbledore greeted the teenagers before resuming his lecture. 

“Sorry, sir. The head girl wanted to speak to us for a moment.” Tom explained as the trio took their usual seats in the back of the classroom. The old man simply ignored his explanation and continued the lesson he was teaching. 

***

That night, Tom and Allura successfully left the Slytherin common room without being seen by the other students just after midnight. It wasn’t likely that anyone else would be roaming around the castle now that prefect patrols had concluded for the night. Silently, the pair carefully made their way up to the sixth floor. They stayed close to the walls to avoid using their wands for light. Luckily, there was just enough candlelight coming from the lanterns spread randomly throughout the castle to light the way. 

“It should be the wall just ahead.” Allura whispered to Tom as they crept down a rarely used hallway once they reached the sixth floor. When they reached the end of the hallway, Allura began to pace back and forth in front of the unusually blank wall. Then, a door appeared in front of their very eyes.

“Well done.” Tom murmured in her ear and stepped forward so he could lead the way into the mysterious Room of Requirement. Once the door was safely closed behind them, they both sighed in relief.

“It doesn’t look like much, does it?” Allura asked as they looked around at the unusually empty room. It was just a small space that was home to a staircase that led downwards.

“If you required a path to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets there wouldn’t be a need for the place to look more extravagant.” Tom said with a shrug and lit his wand before making his way to the staircase. Allura followed close behind him, feeling apprehensive about what they might find on their journey down the obviously lengthy set of stairs. They made their way back down to the lower levels of the castle in silence, although Tom was mentally counting the stairs so he could keep track of what floor they were on. 

“That should be the second floor, just ahead where the stairs come to an end.” Tom said and pointed ahead and the dim light of the room they were about to enter.

“You were right, Tom. It’s a bathroom.” Allura praised as they slowly exited the staircase and watched as it disappeared as soon as their feet were on the floor. 

“Indeed...start searching carefully. The diary said that there should be pipes protecting the entrance.” Tom reminded her and they split up to begin looking around. 

“Allura, look.” Tom said urgently nearly an hour later. He had been inspecting the numerous sinks and by the sound of it he had found something. Allura rushed to his side to see what he had found.

“There’s a snake, just there.” He explained and pointed to the tiny engraved figure on the side of the faucet. It was brilliant...obviously no one would even see the mark if they hadn’t been intentionally looking for it. 

“Do you suppose you’d have to speak Parseltongue to open it? Just like the lock on the diary?” Allura mused as she watched Tom try to figure out what needed to be done to open the pipe. 

“Clever girl.” Tom smirked to his companion before he began hissing at the tiny snake, ordering it to open up. Then, the sinks twisted apart to reveal a large, gaping pipe in the very middle of their circular arrangement. 

“It looks so deep.” Allura said as the pair peered down into the pipe in an attempt to figure out how far down the pipe went.

“It would have to be if the chamber is beneath the school.” Tom pointed out, looking around for something that he could drop into the pipe. If nothing else he could estimate how far down the pipe would go if he could count how long it took for the falling object to be heard hitting the bottom. 

“I don’t think we should go down there just yet…” Allura began to suggest when Tom couldn’t find anything to drop and prepared to just go ahead and slide down the pipe.

“Why not?” Tom asked impatiently, eager to get into the chamber as quickly as possible.

“Well, for one thing, we don’t know exactly what’s down there, and how are we supposed to get back if we have to slide down a pipe to get there? We need to plan this out before we do anything else. I think we should wait until we can at least get Abraxas to go with us. There’s safety in numbers and I really think we should go down there in a group in case there’s trouble. We could ask Henry to go too just in case.” Allura implored Tom to see reason as she pulled him a few steps back from the gaping hole in the floor.

Tom sighed and hissed an order for the entryway to close once more. 

“I don’t know about asking Henry...I don’t think he has the guts to come along.” Tom said doubtfully, though he would have liked to have the extra wand available just in case. 

“Listen...the four of us can have a meeting in the Room of Requirement. Abraxas already knows what we’re looking for so it’s of no consequence to him if we don’t tell the entire truth. We could simply discuss how we found a secret passage that leads to somewhere beneath the school and we need a couple of extra people to go down there with us so we can have a look safely. If we don’t mention the beast I think Henry might like to go on an adventure with us. I don’t see any point in scaring him with that knowledge since you’re supposed to be able to control it anyway.” Allura rationalized out loud so Tom could know what she was thinking. 

At any rate, there was no arguing against the fact that four wands would be better than three if there were any obstacles to contend with to make it to the real entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. But Tom definitely still had his doubts about Henry.

“Do you suppose he’s loyal enough to not tell on us? I know we’re his only friends but...I don’t know if we can trust him that much just yet.” Tom asked Allura, hoping that she would think this over more cautiously.

“I think so. He’s our friend, Tom. I think as long as we don’t force him to go along with the plan and leave him alone about it if he doesn’t want to go, he wouldn’t have a reason to say anything about it to someone else. I really don’t think he would betray either one of us like that.” Allura insisted, hoping to convince Tom. She felt very strongly that they needed a group while they were still in the process of discovering what all was down there.

“Alright, I’ll think it over. We’d better get back to the dormitories before someone realizes we’ve been out all this time.” Tom finally agreed and led the way to the door that led out into the hallway. It only made sense to leave this way so they knew exactly which bathroom the entrance was located in. The pair silently made their way to the main staircase located in the center of the school, and quietly began to descend back down to the dungeons.

“What are you two up to at such a late hour? It’s almost one thirty in the morning!” Dumbledore called out as the staircase he had been on turned past and he saw them making their way downstairs.

Thinking quickly, Allura took hold of Tom’s hand as though they had been doing so the whole time and they walked sheepishly to Dumbledore, who waited at the bottom of their staircase for them to join him.

“We’re sorry, Professor. We had been up on the seventh floor and we lost track of the time.” Allura explained shyly, as though she had been embarrassed that they had been caught returning from what was probably a makeout session under the stars in the Astronomy Tower. Tom blushed as well, though not for the reason that Dumbledore assumed. Truthfully, the redness in his face was from being caught by Dumbledore, who was the only teacher he hated.

“Well, you two shall have another late night in detention tomorrow in my office.” Dumbledore scolded the teenagers as he peered at them over the top of his half moon shaped glasses.

“Yes sir.” Allura consented and looked down at the floor as though she really was sorry for being out after hours. Reluctantly, Tom imitated her gesture just for the sake of getting back down to the dungeons and away from the old man as quickly as possible.

“Now, I insist you both get back to your dormitories immediately without any detours.” Dumbledore ordered before dismissing Tom and Allura, giving them a knowing gaze as he did so.

“Of course, sir. We shall see you tomorrow night for detention.” Tom said with a curt nod and he led Allura the rest of the way downstairs, pulling her along by the hand at a rapid pace. By the time they reached the entrance to their common room she was entirely out of breath.

“My legs are a lot shorter than yours, you know. I can’t move as quickly as you can without putting in extra work to keep up.” Allura scolded in between deep puffs of air as she attempted to catch her breath. She very nearly had to run against her will all the way down to the dungeons. Tom didn’t reply and only stated the password so they could enter the common room before someone else came along to give them another detention. 

“Stop complaining, Allura.” He finally responded and plopped down onto the sofa in front of the fireplace. “You would have been more upset if we got caught out in the corridor by someone else and ended up with a second round of detention.” She only sat down next to him with a huff because she didn’t care to verbally admit that he was right this time.

***

The next night, Tom and Allura made their way to Dumbledore’s office immediately after dinner to serve their detention.

“Well, I must say that you both picked an opportune time to make such a poor decision last night. Allura, you’ll be grading first year and second year essays. Tom, you’ll be grading third and fourth years’. Just mark the incorrect portions of each essay and I’ll assign a grade accordingly after I review them.” Dumbledore said cheerfully as he handed each of them a massive stack of essays. “If it makes you feel any better, I have three years of essays to contend with tonight.” 

The two teenagers began to work as quickly as possible, but the younger students tended to get more basic facts wrong and they quickly became annoyed with the stupidity they had been forced to read and mark wrong over and over again.

“Sir...how should I mark it if the entire essay is made-up nonsense?” Tom asked coldly, not wanting to take the time to mark every single paragraph.

“You will mark each essay accordingly, Tom. I am quite certain that my directions were clear.” Dumbledore said with a smile as he gazed at the impatient boy. 

“Very well, sir.” Tom gave his icy reply and reluctantly marked every paragraph as incorrect.

“Gosh, professor. How can you read such terrible handwriting?” Allura pondered out loud as she squinted and struggled to read the chicken scratch that the vast majority of first years had written on their essays. 

“With many years of practice, Miss Malfoy. Having a good set of reading glasses at my disposal has helped with that as well.” Dumbledore said with a chuckle before all three of them fell back into silence as they worked.

It took them until midnight to finish grading all of the essays, and both of them yawned as they stood up to stretch.

“Now, I must encourage you two not to go wandering about the castle after curfew anymore. You never know when you might stumble across something dangerous without the possibility of help being nearby.” Dumbledore reminded his students, giving them both a glare that led them both to believe that he knew that they had been up to more than just sneaking off so they could kiss in private the night before.

“I didn’t realize that the Astronomy tower was considered dangerous at any time.” Tom said in a snide tone, insisting upon sticking with the lie Allura had told Dumbledore. 

“It isn’t. It’s the roaming around the castle in the middle of the night part that could cause students to fall into jeopardy.” Dumbledore scolded Tom, using his intent gaze to let the boy know without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn’t fooled.

“I understand, sir. We shall be more careful to not lose track of the time again.” Tom replied, though there was a hint of defiance underneath his words. He simply refused to crack and let the old man trick him into betraying the lie. 

“Very well. Off to bed, both of you.” Dumbledore said with a sigh as he dismissed Tom and Allura.

Tom took hold of Allura’s hand, keeping up the charade from the night before just for Dumbledore, and he led her out into the corridor towards the main staircase. 

“It’s like he can see right through you with his creepy eyes, isn’t it?” Allura said absent mindedly with a shiver as she leaned further into Tom’s arm for a bit of extra comfort, still feeling uncomfortable from the effects of Dumbledore’s penetrating gaze. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tom denied, not wanting anyone, not even Allura, to come to the realization that the old Transfiguration professor had that kind of power over him. 

Truthfully, he had felt intimidated by Dumbledore ever since the first time he met him back at Wool’s Orphanage in 1938. Ever since then, the man had not fallen for any of Tom’s lies or charms like the other teachers had always done. The poor first impression he had made upon Dumbledore at their first meeting had always prevailed and it was not to be forgotten, no matter how hard Tom tried to weave his deception to change that particular situation.

“He’s probably going to keep an eye out for us sneaking around now. We’ll have to be much more careful in carrying out our plans from now on.” Tom muttered as they entered the dungeons and moved further down the corridor to the wall that was the home of the entrance to the Slytherin dormitories.

“Yeah...hopefully he’ll have forgotten about it by the time we’re done planning our next move to get into the chamber safely. It’s a good incentive to be extra careful with our ideas, at the very least. I can’t say that I think that aspect of the situation is bad at all.” Allura pointed out, hoping that Tom wouldn’t be too angry over the need to take their time and not rush into the Chamber of Secrets just yet. She knew how eager he was to move forward with the plot at hand. 

“I’m not going to pretend that I am not completely displeased and frustrated by the most recent developments.” Tom said flatly with a curt nod, making his annoyance very clear. He wouldn’t be swayed into being in a less sour mood and he certainly did not intend to look on the bright side as Allura had suggested. 

“Well, if that’s the case then I’m going to bed so I can try to get some sleep. I’d rather not sit and stew in your negativity when we’re both already upset as it is.” The blonde replied simply with a shrug and bid Tom good night. She figured he’d probably rather be alone for a little while anyway.


	5. November 1943

Now that the hunt for the whereabouts of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets had concluded, there was no need for Allura to search the castle while everyone else was in their first class of the day. She had found that it was easier to sleep when it was light outside, so she had started taking a long nap for that portion of the morning. Most days, she didn’t even bother to go down to breakfast and just stayed in bed until she had to get ready for her first class of the day, which was everyone else’s second class and the last time slot on the schedule before lunch time. The bags under her eyes had vanished after a few weeks and for the first time in months she looked and felt well rested. The more sleep she got, the faster her already sharp mind could work. Given the circumstances, Tom didn’t feel the need to pester her about staying in bed all morning.

Abraxas had continued spending every spare moment with Gianna so he wasn’t around very often outside of classes, except for when Tom requested that he be present so a task could be assigned to him once in a while. For the time being Tom didn’t have a whole lot of use for Abraxas, since working toward accomplishing his current goals required intellectual help. Abraxas wasn’t usually cut out for that sort of task, and that was Allura’s area of expertise anyway. Allura, on the other hand, did feel put out sometimes that her twin had completely blown her off the vast majority of the time. She certainly wasn’t used to spending such a short amount of time with him, and it was weird to not spend quality time with her brother at least once in awhile. The Malfoys were a very tightly knit family and it was highly unusual for one member to be so cut off from the rest. 

“Abraxas, the three of us need to have a...family meeting...very soon so we can speak privately.” Allura quietly informed her brother one evening at dinner since she was seated closer to him than Tom was.

“Can Gianna come too?” Abraxas asked, though he realized what a stupid request it had been when his sister kicked him under the table and hissed a rather sharp “no”. 

“Fine...just let me know when and where and I’ll show up.” He replied, realizing that it had probably been a discrete request from Tom that was work related and not actually a request for a “family meeting” from her. Abraxas sulked as he rubbed his sore shin from the kick and turned his back to Allura so he could resume his conversation with Gianna. Allura had been extra mean with him lately and he didn’t care to keep his attention on her any longer than what was required for the short exchange because of that fact. 

The twins always had their little spats and periods of time that they didn’t get along well but the circumstances had been slowly but surely turning into a beast of a completely different nature. They had been substantially growing apart ever since he started dating Gianna. The situation might have been different if Allura didn’t despise the girl to the point that she didn’t want to spend any time with him while Gianna was with him, and he wouldn’t consent to spending less time with his girlfriend. Since she was a year behind the trio he only had his free time to spend with her. It was understandable that Allura felt rejected by her own brother, and there was nothing to be done to change her mind about that without Abraxas cutting ties with Gianna altogether.

***

The following Saturday, all of the students in third year and up left the school for Hogsmeade village. Arm in arm, Tom and Allura set out for their first date. The walk felt unusually awkward, and Tom began to regret his decision to call it a date. In all actuality, their outing wouldn’t be particularly different than any of the other times they spent the day together in Hogsmeade, aside from the fact that they didn’t have work to do in Tomes and Scrolls this time. They had slept side by side on numerous occasions back at Malfoy Manor without any embarrassment from either of them, and one could argue that doing so was a much bigger deal than going out for lunch as a couple. The label of “dating” placed on their afternoon outing was the only relevant difference compared to what they usually did with their time together during the school year, but it had a major impact on the pair just the same.

The pair hardly spoke at all as they sat at their table in one of the fancier restaurants in Hogsmeade. About halfway through the awkward meal, Allura finally made her irritation known to Tom. 

“Tom, why are we going out of our way to make things weird between us?” She demanded to know as she smacked her fork down onto the table.

“I’m not sure what exactly you mean, Allura. Please explain.” Tom requested and set his fork down as well. He didn’t know exactly what she was getting at, but he suspected that she was about to dump him and insist that they remain friends instead. It didn’t appear to be a promising conversation. Tom steepled his fingers and waited for the girl to speak her mind.

“I just mean that we don’t have any business forcing ourselves to go about our relationship the same way other people our age do. Neither one of us are cut out for romantic dates and making puppy eyes at each other like a couple of saps. We’re not like everyone else and I don’t see why we can’t just be together in our own way instead of trying to be fake and miserable.” Allura explained with a sigh, making it clear that this wasn’t a dumping session.

“I...I thought that’s what you would have wanted.” Tom said stupidly, finding himself dumbfounded by the revelation. He had always assumed that Allura wanted the same things out of a relationship that other girls obviously want. Apparently, he was dead wrong. “Although, I have to confess that I am relieved to hear otherwise. Romance has never been my forte.” 

“I’ve never expected that from you at all, and frankly I don’t want you to try to act like a lovesick puppy. That sort of thing is obviously unnatural for the both of us and it needs to stop before everything is ruined. I’d prefer that we cut the crap and go about moving forward together on our terms rather than putting too much stock in how things are “supposed” to be done. If we can’t enjoy our relationship because of the extra pressure to be something we aren’t then what’s the point?” Allura explained incredulously, and she was right. They could never make each other happy this way and it was time to drop the facade.

“You’re right, of course. I completely agree with everything you’ve said. If neither one of us are comfortable then we’d fall apart very quickly. We know how we feel about each other so there’s no need to go through the motions of a charade. It appears that we have reached an understanding, at any rate.” Tom said with a nod, the tension he had been feeling all day ebbing away at a rapid pace as he spoke. He was so glad that Allura genuinely wanted him to be himself and go about their relationship in an honest manner. It would have become tiring to constantly pretend otherwise very quickly. At least he wouldn’t have to hide his true feelings from her, and that was a big relief to say the least.

The new couple finished their lunch in peace, and chatted about the week’s classes on their way to Tomes and Scrolls. 

“I’d like to find a book about dark magical creatures, while we’re in the bookshop. There’s quite a lot of them listed in our Defense Against the Dark Arts text but there has to be more that we haven’t learned about.” Allura explained her curiosity happily, though she was also indirectly hinting that she was trying to figure out what lived in the Chamber of Secrets so they could prepare accordingly for their first journey into the depths below Hogwarts. 

The two teenagers entered the shop and perused the shelves together.

“What about this one?” Tom asked as he lifted a large volume on magical beasts from the top shelf and brought it down for Allura so she could have a look.

“Oh, I didn’t even see that one! I’m too damn short to see what’s on the top shelves.” Allura chuckled as she flipped the pages to the table of contents to see if there were any creatures listed that she hadn’t already studied. 

Tom moved so he was behind Allura and leaned over her shoulder so he could have a look as well. “What about that one?” He asked casually and pointed to the chapter labeled “basilisks”. Neither had heard of the creature at all so they flipped to one of the last chapters.

“Woah...look at it’s teeth in that drawing. It does at least visually appear to be a creature that Slytherin would want to have around. But I don’t see how something that huge and scary looking would be able to move around the school unseen.” Allura pointed to the detailed drawing of the massive serpent-like creature. It’s large fangs protruded from the mouth in a most menacing fashion, and the beast resembled a dragon without legs or wings in many ways. 

“Maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult...you saw how big the pipe we looked at was. Maybe it could slither through there if there’s more pipes that size than just that one. It’s funny...have you ever seen a spider in the castle? It says here that spiders are deathly afraid of basilisks. I can’t ever recall seeing even a web inside of the school.” Tom mused as he looked away from the drawing and began skimming over the passage on the adjacent page. 

“I don’t know...the house elves keep the castle pretty clean so I would think that’s a more logical reason to never see webs around. Although, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spider in the school either. That’s strange for such an old castle, now that I think about it.” Allura agreed before moving away to look for a book with more in depth information about basilisks instead of a general volume with quick facts about various creatures.

“I don’t know that finding another book to confirm our suspicions is necessary, Allura. See here, this one says that the last known basilisks were bred in the fenlands of Ireland...according to the diary, Slytherin was from such a region.” Tom whispered to the girl and pointed to the fact that she wouldn’t have been able to realize was a connection to the very man they were trying to establish a link to.

“That’s...very telling. And proof of how well-hidden his secrets were. I never would have known that if you hadn’t read it in the diary and told me. Do you suppose he got ahold of one from that breeder and brought it to Hogwarts?” Allura asked, curiosity putting her mind into overdrive. 

“It’s highly possible...if he was able to build a secret chamber in the first place it probably would have been all too easy to sneak a baby basilisk down there once the structure was completed. Baby basilisks don’t look to be very big at all, according to this size chart.” Tom replied as he continued to peruse the chapter they had been looking at together just a moment ago.

“I don’t see how the creature down there couldn’t be a basilisk at this point. It’s essentially an oversized serpent...just the sort of creature that one could assume only he could control because he spoke parseltongue.” Allura agreed, continuing her search for a book with more information. It wouldn’t do to encounter a monster and not know how to interact with it safely. 

Tom put the first book back on the top shelf and continued to help Allura look for another volume. Once they found a tome that she was happy with, Tom paid for the book and escorted her out of the shop.

“I suppose you’ll want to stop for sweets before we head back.” Tom said with an indignant sigh and gestured toward Honeydukes, having reached the part of the afternoon that he had really been dreading. He had stuck with his decision to buy Allura some candy but that didn’t mean he was happy to go into the crowded shop.

“Yes please.” She grinned up at him and began to walk into Honeydukes, though she was caught off guard when he walked in with her instead of waiting at the bench outside. Arm in arm, the pair entered the brightly colored shop to look around.

Surprisingly, Tom did find a box of crystallized pineapple that he thought looked delicious. He had never particularly cared for sweets as other children did, but he had always been fond of pineapple so it seemed to be a fitting purchase. He thought better of buying just one box and took a second, just in case. 

From across the room, a high pitched giggle echoed throughout the entire shop. Allura scoffed when she noticed that it was Gianna, giggling over the massive heart-shaped candy floss that Abraxas offered her. Eager to get away from the offending sight and sounds coming from the girl, Allura quickly made her selections and followed Tom to the register.

“My treat.” Tom murmured in Allura’s ear and gently moved her aside so he could put his boxes of pineapple on the counter with her stash. The cashier happily rang up the large order and Tom paid before taking hold of the large bag so Allura wouldn’t have to carry her own. Allura glared at her brother and his girlfriend on the way out of the shop.

“Why are you so sour about those two?” Tom asked, understanding her annoyance with Gianna’s personality but he had also noticed how much worse Allura’s attitude had gotten recently.

“She gets on my damn nerves. I told him how stupid she is and he didn’t even care about that. I can’t stand the way she acts and Abraxas behaves in an equally idiotic manner when she’s around.” Allura explained, though she left out telling about how hurt she was that Abraxas wouldn’t take a break from the girl just long enough to spend a little time together like they used to. 

“Oh. I was under the impression that you were put out because he spends every spare moment with her and doesn’t show consideration for spending time with you anymore.” Tom said in a sly tone, calling out Allura’s bluff.

“Well, that’s a contributing factor as well. It’s not supposed to be like that and family should be higher on his list of priorities. It isn’t right for him to neglect us for someone that’s so horrible. He should be with a good girl that can get along reasonably well with his family.” Allura finally gave in and told the truth of the matter. 

“From what I’ve seen you’re the one that chooses not to get along, if we’re being honest about it. She’s been friendly enough, despite the fact that she’s a pest regardless, and you could be more tolerant of her for Abraxas’ sake. It’s not fair for him to be forced to choose between his family and his future.” Tom pointed out, making his stance on the issue clear. He could have ordered Abraxas to stay away from Gianna months ago, but he didn’t see the point. It was of no consequence to him who Abraxas dated as long as the girl kept her nose out of Tom’s business.

“I suppose you’re right, in a way. But still, he knows how much I’ve always disliked Gianna. And he never spends even a few minutes away from her when he could.” Allura defended her position with defiance. 

“Sort of like you and I, don’t you think? He could have just as easily acted like you stole his best friend, you know.” Tom said shrewdly as they continued to walk down the path back to Hogwarts.

“That’s not the same thing. He’s been supportive of you and I being friendly because he’s never had a hard time getting along with you. His attitude would be the same as mine is now if I was pursuing a relationship with someone that he disliked enough to never want to be around.” Allura protested.

“That isn’t true and you know it, Allura. What about last year when you let Parkinson hang around with us? Abraxas hates him just as much as you and I do, and he was far more civil throughout that situation than you ever were.” Tom had her there, and that was the end of the conversation. Allura pouted the rest of the way back to the castle, not wanting to openly admit defeat. 

“Go ahead and sulk, then. I don’t care. All I’m saying is that you could at least try to return the favor for your brother after he’s always stood by your side no matter who came along.” Tom said irritably, though he wasn’t personally affected by the conversation at hand. It was of no consequence to him if Allura hated Abraxas’ girlfriend or not.


End file.
